Stepmother

Sister-in-law Zhong: "There are many people in our Zhong family. Although there is no uncle or uncle, there are several cousins ​​and two aunts. Those two aunts have a good relationship with our mother. , When Zhao Yin drove out Wei Guo and Jianguo, two aunts came over and told Zhao Yin that they couldn't do this. Zhao Yin caught them and scolded them.

"Later grandpa and grandma got old, and Zhao Yin didn't take care of them. The two aunts, Jianguo and Weiguo sent the two old men away, and they broke up with my father. They came over yesterday to take a look. , just told me not to come today. Several cousins' children got married, and Wei Guo went to help. My father and Zhao Yinzhuang didn't know, and they didn't come to help without the gift money.

"The fact that several uncles can come here today is also to give Wei Guo and Jianguo face. A few aunts didn't come, and there is no other reason, just to bother Zhao Yin, and for fear of being entangled by Zhao Yin. Just now Everyone was discussing how to bury them in the house, and Zhao Yin didn't say to pour a glass of water or a cigarette for them."

"Wait a minute, sister-in-law, isn't there anyone from my aunt's side?" Song Zhaodi asked.

Sister-in-law Zhong: "I came the day before yesterday. I heard that our father's death was related to Zhao Yin, and they thought it was a shame. After sitting for a while, I found a reason to go back."

"This..." Song Zhaodi was speechless, "Are those cousins ​​not rich?"

Sister Zhong nodded.

Song Zhaodi shook her head and sighed: "I should have thought of stepping on the low and holding the high. But what's the point of her living like this all her life."

"Who knows. In the 1960s, most people ate one or two meals a day. Zhao Yin, our father and Shengli ate three meals a day." Sister Zhong said "Some people have a lot of children in their family, and the commercial food they are given is not enough to eat. Seeing that her family has three meals a day, they ask her to borrow some food stamps. She is unwilling to borrow them, and she also says that they can't afford to have so many children.

"In the past, we paid attention to having more children, more blessings, and more people. We knew that those years were so difficult. The state ordered children to be born, but no one wanted to. We still rely on the food stamps sent by Jianguo. Hold on.

"There are hundreds of people living in the box building, and there are only three or five families who are willing to communicate with Zhao Yin. Those families may think that Zhao Yin is doing too much, and he didn't come out today."

Song Zhaodi smiled: "The person who can get along with Zhao Yin is not a good person. If you don't stab in the back, you will be worthy of Zhao Yin."

"You're right." Sister-in-law Zhong opened the door, "I've bought some food, let's fry some food and steam some rice."

Not in her own home, Song Zhaodi didn't tell her to cook, what Sister Zhong asked her to do, what she did.

At noon, a table of men, a table of women and children ate in Zhong Weiguo's yard. After the meal, Song Zhaodi helped Sister-in-law Zhong clean up the pots and pans together, and the family of seven went directly to the train station without going to Xiao Song Village.

Get off the bus, Song Zhaodi is holding the second baby and the rebirth, Zhong Jianguo is carrying the bag, holding the third baby, and walking for a while and realizes that something is wrong, looking back, Zili and Dawa are standing in front of the cooperative .

Zhong Jianguo shouted: "What are you looking at?"

"Mother, I'm hungry." Zhong Dawa rubbed over her shoulders.

Zhong Jianguo raised his hand and looked at his watch: "I eat at one o'clock, it's only half past two."

"The baby eats a small bowl of rice." Self-reliance explained for the baby.

Zhong Jianguo: "You eat so much at home."

"I eat a bowl of rice and a bowl of vegetables at home." Zhong Dawa stretched out two fingers, "Sometimes there is an egg." Turning to Song Zhaodi, "Mother, I will eat three bites today. vegetable."

Song Zhaodi said with a smile: "Okay, I understand." Let go of Erwa and Gengsheng, "Zhong Jianguo, wait for me by the roadside for a while, I'll take a look at the cooperative."

"Are you hungry?" Zhong Jianguo asked.

I am too embarrassed to be self-reliant: "My mother said how much to eat, I thought it was the same as in our family, and I only served half a bowl of rice."

"It's alright." Zhong Jianguo smiled, "Fortunately you eat less today, otherwise, your aunt's cooking would not be enough for our family."

The eldest hurriedly said, "We don't eat much, it's my aunt who cooks less."

"Most people cook with dishes, only your mother uses a pot to serve vegetables, or a very large dish." Zhong Jianguo put Sanwa on the ground, "Erwa, rebirth, let's Are your dishes bigger than your aunt's?"

Erwa shook her head: "I forgot."

"It seems so." Gengsheng said, "I took the dishes three times, and the dishes in front of me were gone."

Song Zhaodi ran back with a bag and handed it directly to Dawa: "Rice candy and hemp candy sticks, I didn't buy anything else."

"Such a big package?" Zhong Jianguo asked hurriedly.

Song Zhaodi: "Yes."

"You, why did you buy them so much?" Zhong Jianguo said, "A few of them are changing their teeth."

Song Zhaodi took a look: "Eat slowly, you won't tire your teeth." After a while, "Sister-in-law wants to cook us eggs, but I didn't let them cook. We have nothing to eat in our bags. I thought we both had to eat on the road, so I bought so much."

"No steamed bread or something?" Zhong Jianguo asked.

Song Zhaodi shook her head.

"No wonder I think the bag is very light." Zhong Jianguo, "I thought it was because the three babies were too heavy, and the bag seemed light."

Sanwa pouted: "I'm not heavy. I'm not fat at all."

"Okay, you're not fat. No one says you're fat." Song Zhaodi said, "Let's go quickly and try to get home in the morning the day after tomorrow." However, there are few flights to Shencheng. Zhong Jianguo and his party rushed to the station and were not able to take the car back immediately.

I waited at the station for more than two hours, and got on the train to Shencheng at six o'clock.

After getting off the train, Song Zhaodi felt a pain in her arm, looked down, and hugged her arm, and quickly asked, "What's the matter, are you uncomfortable?"

"Mother, don't talk, hurry up." Gengsheng said eagerly.

Zhong Jianguo froze in his heart, and quickly said, "Big baby, second baby, hurry up." Holding the third baby in one hand, covering his self-supporting face with the other, he strode out.

Song Zhaodi didn't dare to ask any more questions, and let Regenerator grab her arm and drag her to follow.

On the bus to the pier, Song Zhaodi dared to ask: "Have you met someone you know?"

Reborn nodded again and again: "My uncle is going to the station."

Song Zhaodi froze in her heart and turned to Zhong Jianguo: "Why did he come to Shencheng?"

"Go on a business trip." Zhong Jianguo whispered.

Song Zhaodi shook her head: "I don't think so. Just after the New Year, many units just went to work, and he went on a business trip?"

"You mean looking for them?" Zhong Jianguo shook his head, "Impossible."

Song Zhaodi thought about it: "Let's talk at home."

There are many people outside, Zhong Jianguo is also afraid that it will reach the ears of restless people, so he said: "Let's talk at home."

When I got home in the afternoon, when Zhong Jianguo was bathing the eldest baby, the second baby and the third baby, Song Zhaodi called the two children into the kitchen: "When Commander Zhao brought you out, except for him and His guard, who else knows?"

"No one knows." Zili said, "I still remember that it was very dark and there were no people on the road. Uncle Zhao didn't wear a military uniform, but he wore a Chinese tunic to send us to Shencheng. No People knew he was a soldier."

Song Zhaodi sighed: "Silly boy. Soldiers walk differently from ordinary people. If Commander Zhao only changes his clothes and doesn't deliberately disguise, others can still see that he is a soldier."

Self-reliance changed greatly: "Mother-"

"Don't worry." Song Zhaodi pulled the two children to her side, "I ask you, has that woman ever met Commander Zhao?"

"No." Zili said, "It was the uncle of the guard who sent us to an intersection, and the uncle who came to pick us up told the uncle of the guard, please rest assured, he will take good care of us. "

Song Zhaodi thought about it carefully: "It was in the middle of the night when I went to pick you up, and that woman was so frightened by me that even if she saw what I looked like, she probably forgot. "Pause, "Go take a shower first, and ask your dad to ask Commander Zhao's house later."

"Mother, why is my uncle looking for us?"

Reborn didn't understand: "He sent us home."

"Normal people don't watch their nephews die. People like your uncle are not normal." Song Zhaodi said, "So I don't know what he thinks. But don't worry. Forget What I told you? You were picked up at the Binhai Railway Station.

"Come tomorrow and ask Dawa to teach you a few Binhai dialects. When playing with the boys, talk to Dawa in Binhai dialect, and be sure that you are Binhai people."

Rebirth: "Mother, we can speak Binhai dialect and teach us vigorously."

"That's good." Song Zhaodi watched Zhong Jianguo come out, "Go take a bath. Take a bath and go upstairs to sleep, don't think about anything, the sky falls and you and I are there."

Zhong Jianguo waved his hand: "Wait. Several children are so dirty that the water in the basin has to be drained. Is there still hot water on the stove?"

"There is still a pot." Song Zhaodi said, and took the pot out.

Zhong Jianguo and Song Zhaodi took a bath, and they washed the whole family's clothes together. The sun had already set.

Song Zhaodi looked at the clothes on the two ropes and felt a sense of accomplishment, but she couldn't care about the emotion: "I go to Commander Zhao's house with you, or do you go by yourself?"

"I'll go by myself." Zhong Jianguo said, "Go upstairs and rest for a while."

Song Zhaodi said good, and went upstairs to lie down for half an hour, tossing and turning, but couldn't sleep, so she simply put on her clothes and went downstairs.

Playing with the radio downstairs for over an hour before hearing footsteps. Turning her face and looking out, she didn't see Zhong Jianguo, Song Zhaodi hurried out and found Zhong Jianguo slowly washing her hands under the porch. She really wanted to slap him: "What did the commander say?"

"The commander didn't tell that person where you were, but only said that a woman would pick up the child." Zhong Jianguo said, "After you received self-reliance and rebirth, you were in Xiao Song again. I stayed in the village for more than ten days before I came back, the time is not right, it's fine."

Song Zhaodi breathed a sigh of relief, but was not at ease: "You said that the self-reliant uncle is ill, the child has been lost for two years before he thinks of looking for it. If not for the commander, the child would be It's time to turn into a pile of bones."

"I analyzed it with the commander, it may be related to Old General Qi." Zhong Jianguo said, "For example, they asked Old General Qi to explain certain things, or to identify someone, and Old Qi proposed to see two A grandson. An independent uncle came out to find someone.

"Why go to Shencheng? Because the two children were lost at night. It is unrealistic to walk, and the children are too young. The cars stopped at night, and only the train can go out. Check the train that night, it is easy Find Shencheng."

Song Zhaodi thought for a while: "So they can't be sure that the two children are in Shencheng?"

"Yes." Zhong Jianguo nodded, "Let's go upstairs." After a while, "Don't go back for two years."

Song Zhaodi: "My parents are in good health, and your eldest brother's family is also very good. You are all year round. If we don't go back, they won't blame us. However, if they check one by one, they may be able to I found Commander Zhao."

"Let's talk about it." Zhong Jianguo said, "I look at Commander Zhao and don't worry, there may be other arrangements."

Song Zhaodi thought for a moment: "Will someone else go first in his military uniform?"

"It's also possible." Zhong Jianguo said, looking up at Song Zhaodi, "Tell me honestly, when will this great revolution end."

Song Zhaodi: "Ten years."

"Even if it starts in 1966, there are still five or six years left?" Zhong Jianguo asked.

Song Zhaodi nodded: "Wait patiently."

"I can't do anything if I'm impatient." Zhong Jianguo sighed, "Fortunately, Lao Jiang's people came to tease us every three days, we have to go out from time to time, otherwise, we don't have to think about it here. So safe."

Song Zhaodi was curious: "Lao Jiang is still alive?"

Zhong Jianguo froze for a moment, realized what she said, and couldn't believe it: "You don't even know when Lao Jiang died?"

"I'm a fashion designer, not a historical researcher." Song Zhaodi said more and more guilty, "I don't know, it's normal."

Zhong Jianguo took a deep breath: "Song Zhaodi, Song Zhaodi, don't your generation even know when the War of Resistance will end?"

"I know." Song Zhaodi said, "August 15th."

Zhong Jianguo was too lazy to talk to her: "your birthday is August 15th, of course you remember it now."

"Isn't the war of resistance you said the war of resistance against Japan?" Song Zhaodi said, "If it is, it means that I am right. Even if I say that I remember it before, you don't believe it."

Zhong Jianguo nodded: "Even if you are right. Then I will ask you again, when did Japan sign the surrender letter?"

Song Zhaodi smiled slightly: "September 2nd."

I don't know when he died. I really don't know what's the use of living so many years in your last life."

Song Zhaodi kicked his leg.

Zhong Jianguo reached out and grabbed it like a conditioned reflex.

Be caught off guard!

Plop!

Song Zhaodi fell to the ground with her feet in the sky.